Holloway: Dinner with the Lord

Friday, December 29, 2023
    Feast of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1170
Meditation:
    Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
    —Luke 5:18-19 (NIV)
Quotation:
One takes a risk when one invites the Lord
Whether to dine, or talk the afternoon
Away, for always the unexpected soon
Turns up: a woman breaks her precious nard,
A sinner does the task you should assume,
A leper who is cleansed must show his proof:
Suddenly you see your very roof removed
And a cripple clutters up your living-room.

There’s no telling what to expect when Christ
Walks in the door. The table set for four
Must often be enlarged, and decorum
Thrown to the winds. It’s His voice that calls them,
And it’s no use to bolt and bar the door:
His kingdom knows no bounds of roof, of wall or floor.
    ... Marcella M. Holloway (b. 1913), included in Divine Inspiration: the life of Jesus in world poetry, Robert Atwan, George Dardess, Peggy Rosenthal, eds., Oxford University Press US, 1998, p. 118 (see the book)
    See also Luke 5:18-19; Matt. 9:10-13; Mark 2:3-4,15-17; 14:3; Luke 7:36-38; 17:12-16; John 12:2-3; 13:4-5; 14:23; Rev. 3:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your mercy is broad without limits.

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